In Kenya, scores of mourners fled screaming as police fired gunshots and fired tear gas into a stadium where people had gathered to view the body of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Several people were reportedly injured as security officers tried to disperse the growing crowd at the stadium in the capital Nairobi.
It is not yet clear whether police used live ammunition or rubber bullets.
Odinga’s body was flown back from India, where he died on Wednesday morning. Earlier, thousands of supporters traveled to the country’s main airport to receive the coffin, with flights briefly halted due to the outpouring of grief.
Authorities said a “precautionary lockdown” was in place for about two hours as mourners were allowed access to the restricted area.
Thousands of people lined up at the airport to escort vehicles carrying the body to the stadium, about 10 kilometers from the city center.
Due to the unexpectedly large crowd, the public viewing ceremony of Odinga’s body was moved to Nairobi’s Moi International Sports Center in Kasarani area, rather than inside the National Assembly Building, where it was originally scheduled to be held.
The convoy arrived at a packed stadium with more people waiting outside.
Minutes later, a large crowd broke through the stadium’s gates and police fired tear gas. In response, many mourners ran for the exits.
A BBC reporter at the scene also saw men in civilian clothes beating protesters with batons.
AFP reported that at least three people were visibly injured, one with a serious head injury.
Supporters gathered in droves around Lee Funeral Home and the National Assembly, where the body was expected to be first laid to rest.
“I came here at 6 in the morning. We came to the airport to welcome Baba (Odinga’s nickname),” one mourner told the BBC near the airport.
“We are sad. We are left orphans. He is our father.”
Motorcycle rider William Otieno Adoyo said he was “Baba’s biggest fan.”
“We want to see Baba. How do we know if the person in the coffin is Baba? If they show us, we will be satisfied,” he told the BBC.
Mourners carried tree branches and palm branches, symbols of mourning and sorrow for the Luo people, to which Odinga belongs.
A state funeral will be held at Nairobi’s Nyayo National Stadium on Friday, and his body will be taken on Saturday to his political stronghold, Kisumu, a city on the shores of Lake Victoria in western Kenya.
The public will have a chance to view his body before he is buried on Sunday at his farm in the main island, about 60km west of Kisumu.
According to the family, it was Odinga’s wish to be laid to rest in the shortest possible time, ideally within 72 hours.
The 80-year-old former prime minister collapsed during a morning walk in India on Wednesday morning and was rushed to Devamata Hospital, about 50km east of the port city of Kochi.
A seven-day period of mourning was declared. Kenyan President William Ruto said Odinga’s funeral would be held with full military honors.
He has been a towering figure in Kenyan politics and has been the country’s main opposition leader for many years, most recently three years ago in five failed presidential campaigns.
Additional reporting by Akisa Wandera and Basillioh Rukanga in Nairobi
